When Ayame was getting ready for her high school entrance exam, she had two schools that she wanted to attend in mind: the public school Shogi High and the private school Tsume High. Most of her friends from middle school were going to attend Shogi High, but Ryuji was going to attend Tsume High. For the next month, she stared at the two school brochures unable to make a decision about where she wanted to go. Before she knew it, she missed the deadline to register for the Tsume High entrance exam. She only found out because Ryuji came to her house after the exam to yell at her missing the exam. This oversight led to one of the most profound discussions Ayame ever had with her mother.

"I understand you missed the entrance examination for Tsume High School," Sumiko stated bluntly yet gently. Her and Ayame were seated on a bench at Tsuru Park closest to the crane fountain. Saki had her hands folded gently over her lap as she looked out toward the crane sculpture.

Ayame shied away from the fact, embarrassed. She looked down at her own lap. She pinched one of the pleats of her thick black uniform skirt.

"Did you not want to attend there?" Saki pressed further.

"It's not that…" Ayame started as she gripped more of the pleats in her hand.

Saki shifted her attention to her daughter. "Please don't wrinkle your skirt, dear; it's difficult to iron."

Ayame lessened her grip on the fabric and let out a small breath she didn't know she was holding. "I want to be in the same school as Ryuji… but I want to be with my other friends too," She rambled. She shifted her attention up to her mother's brown eyes who seemed to hold no emotion as usual. Her looks have led some of her friends to perceive Saki as a mother who was too strict and uncaring. Ayame knew better, but she saw no point in convincing her friends.

"Ayame," Saki started. "If you don't control your life, somebody else will."

Confused, she asked her mother, "Like who? God?"

Saki smiled in response. "Something like that."

"Didn't you say that God has a plan for everybody?"

"He does."

"So, how can I control my life if God has everything planned out for me?"

"Dear," She said in a quieter tone. "Even our best plans can go wrong." She placed a hand on Ayame forearm. The thick black sleeves had a slight dusting of snow atop them. The snow melted instantly under Saki's warm hand. "You can't control everything."

Ayame's thoughts returned to the situation in front of her. How long had she been there in front of Ryuji with her mouth ajar? The lunchboxes, thankfully, were secured with bands which prevented the contents from spilling from within. The organization, unfortunately, was likely all but lost… but that was the least of Ayame's concern at the moment.

Mr. Himura rushed to the door and quickly ushered Ryuji into the restaurant. "Upstairs, you two. I have a television." He locked the door and closed the restaurant for business. For a split second, he cynically told himself that it made no difference if the restaurant was closed anyway. He opened an old wooden door to show a staircase. Ryuji grabbed Ayame by the hand and pulled her toward the stairs. Shaken out of her trance, she pulled her hand from his and proceeded to follow the two men up the stairs.

Mr. Himura's home was modest. Similar to the restaurant downstairs, his home looked antiquated. The walls were bare redwood and his floors were made of tatami mats and oak. In a rapidly modernizing world, it was almost humbling to the two teenagers to be returned to old Japan. It was a small dwelling filled with a minimal amount of material possessions. In the far corner of the room was an altar with three pictures positioned coupled with flowers, two candles, and a bowl for incense. Two pictures were of an eldery man and elderly woman while the other showed a beautiful young woman with blonde hair and brown eyes. Despite the shock, Ayame's nosey nature shined through and guided her slowly to the altar as Ryuji and Mr. Himura worked to set up the television.

"Why do you still have an antenna, Mr. Himura?!" Ryuji groaned as he moved it around trying to get a picture on the old box television. Static and picture played tag as he made slight adjustments.

"I don't watch much television, boy," Mr. Himura stated as he searched for the remote control. "It doesn't make sense for me to pay for cable every month."

Still trying to get a signal, Ryuji grew increasingly frustrated. "If I knew you had one of these ancient boxes, we should have just gone back to my shop."

"Don't insult me in my home, Otogi," Mr. Himura warned as he pulled the remote from a small box. "Let me see the antenna."

Ryuji backed away from the television with his hands up. "All yours, old man."

Mr. Himura shot a quick glare to the youth as he handed him the remote, then quickly turned his attention back to the antenna. "The news is on channel five, unless they've changed it."

Ryuji pushed the button for five to be greeted by a fuzzy picture. He looked around to not see Ayame not in his frontal range of view. Panicked slightly, he turned around to see her staring at the picture of the young woman on the altar. "Aya?"

Mr. Himura looked up to see Aya at the altar.

"Who's this woman, Mr. Himura?" Ayame asked, her gaze never leaving the picture.

Mr. Himura's eyes turned solemn as he returned his attention to the antenna. "A conversation for another time." He adjusted the antenna closest to him hard to the right and generated a clear picture on the television. "It's on, you two."

Just like that, the curiosity vanished only to be replaced by the shock infused into their bodies from the images showing on the old television. Multiple police officers lined the street as the camera focused on a high-end nail salon in the city's business district. The view changed to show concerned bystanders and patrons looking toward a single direction. The camera shifts views again to the news anchor reporting the story.

As you can see, the crowds are ever-growing here in front of Crystal Nails following the arrest of Sumiko Hara, who has been wanted for the embezzlement of roughly two-hundred million yen from the Domino City Hospital. She was last seen in November of 1980.

An image of Sumiko then appeared on the screen which caused Ayame's eyes to go wide. "Mother!"

Her partner, Katsuo Kajima, was arrested fifteen years ago when he willingly turned himself in following what he claimed to be a "spiritual awakening." He offered her name as a part of a plea bargain which greatly reduced his sentence.

Soon, the images of the two individuals were next to each other.

I am told that Hara went by the false name, Saki Ishida, which made it difficult for the Domino City and ministry authorities to locate her.

"Turn it off."

All eyes turned to Ayame who had tears forming in her eyes.

Ah, Officer Egami! May I ask for a comment regarding the arrest of Hara?

Ayame sniffled as a watery mucus slowly dripped from her nose. The tears in her eyes welled up more making it increasingly more difficult to hold back. The two men stared at her more engulfed in their concern of her emotional state rather than her request.

Unfortunately, I am unable to provide specific details at the moment other than, due to her crime occurring in Domino City, she will be immediately extradited there and held until local authorities finish their investigations and she is to stand trial.

"Turn it off!"

Thank you, Off-

Mr. Himura turned off the television and returned the remote to the kotatsu. The room grew quiet aside from Ayame's sniffles. Try as she did to reel herself back in, her emotions didn't allow it. Electricity tingled throughout her body as she quickly tried to wipe all traces of tears from her face, failing miserably. Mr. Himura sat in silence close to the television. He looked upon his employee with sympathy, despite not understanding what she is probably feeling.

Ryuji was simply at a loss for words. He struggled at the idea of whether it would be appropriate to touch her. Would it break her? What if he did nothing? Would that be just as bad? Hesitantly, he reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder without saying a word. He knew that no words would help her right now, and the last thing he wanted was his best friend in hysterics.

She didn't respond.

Ryuji left his hand there for a few more seconds before withdrawing it.

"Sumiko Hara…" Ayame trailed as a single tear raced down her face. "They said her name was Sumiko Hara…"

Ryuji looked to Mr. Himura as if asking him what to do or say only to be met with the same sympathetic look he adopted just minutes prior. The restaurant owner rose to his feet and walked a few steps over to a bookshelf where he had a box of facial tissues. He brought the box to Ayame and left it in front of her on the kotatsu. He sat next to her and took a deep breath. "That's what they said, huh…"

"Sumiko Hara…" Ayame droned with more tears falling down her face. Despite the tissues in front of her, she made no effort to clean herself. She was in shock. She felt cold, as if the blood was slowly draining from her body into the ground. She just stared at the black television screen with her mouth slightly ajar.

"Aya, hey…" Ryuji said as he adjusted his body to face Ayame.

"If she's not Saki Ishida, then…" Ayame started still staring at the black screen. "I'm not Ayame Ishida, am I?"

Ryuji continued to watch her. He hated not knowing how to react. He hated that he didn't make any more efforts to prepare himself to care for his brunette friend. Then again, how could he have prepared himself to handle the details that followed the arrest? He wanted to laugh at himself for unknowingly adopting Ayame's habit of justifying her behavior.

Ayame turned toward her best friend, tears now flowing freely from her puffy blue eyes. "Am I, Ryuji?"

He took that as an invitation to pull her tightly into his arms. It was in that moment that she let loose all the control she desperately tried to maintain. She sobbed loudly into his black shirt. He maintained his tight grip as she shook uncontrollably, and held her fragile form for the next few minutes.

Mr. Himura eventually stood up and returned downstairs, leaving the friends by themselves.

Ten minutes later, Mr. Himura returned with two bowls of hot ramen. Ayame had calmed down significantly by then, but still desired the security and solace of her best friend's arms. In a world she felt to be turned on its head, Ryuji was the only thing that remained consistent. Well… him and her boss.

Mr. Himura placed the two bowls of ramen on the kotatsu in front of Ayame and Ryuji. He picked up the box of tissues and replaced back on the shelf. He sat himself in front of the two, blocking the television.

"Thought you kids might want something to eat…" He started as she positioned his hands on his upper thighs. "Don't worry; it's on the house."

Ayame looked up from Ryuji's shirt to see the joking smirk plastered on Mr. Himura's face.

Mr. Himura moved his head to try to make eye contact with her. "It's the tonkotsu broth, which you know tastes better hot."

Keeping her head where it was, she looked down. Ryuji looked down at her moving a wet lock of hair out of her face. Her face was still a slight shade of pink from her intense crying session. He was just glad she was no longer shaking. He looked at the ramen and took in the aroma. It was a rich scent, yet mild. The creamy white broth had a thin, splotchy layer of oil on top with wavy yellow noodles breaking the surface in sporadic places; noodles that Mr. Himura made by hand. It was topped simply with shaved green onions, chashu, an onsen egg sliced in half, and a small sheet of nori. He never tried Mr. Himura's ramen before, despite Ayame working at his shop for the past year. Ryuji felt like Mr. Himura's prices were too high compared to other places. He assumed it was because the school girls who frequented his shop were probably willing to spend whatever Mr. Himura asked. He had to admit, the old man sure had charm.

"Ishida…"

"I'm not Ishida," She stated coldly.

"Fair enough," He said nonchalantly. "Employee, please eat the food I generously prepared for you and your punk friend."

Ryuji shot his head up. "Punk friend?!"

Mr. Himura smirked again. He knew insulting the boy would immediately change the atmosphere in the room. Proud of his progress, he pressed on with his verbal assault. "It's a wonder how they let you go to the prestigious Tsume High School with that long hair and that obnoxious harlequin headband," He placed his palm on his forehead and shook his head. "Really, this generation…"

"What's your problem, old man?!"

"Stop it, you two," came Ayame's soft voice. Despite the low volume, it grabbed the attention of both men in the room.

Ayame lifted herself from Ryuji's embrace to which he put up no struggle. She positioned herself in front of a bowl of ramen and, with the clap of her hands, gave thanks for the food. She picked up the bowl and took a sip of the creamy broth. She swallowed and gave a satisfied sigh. Tonkotsu was Himura Ramen's specialty. The recipe was passed down from Mr. Himura's parents. He claims the difference between their tonkotsu and the other shops is how long he simmers the pork bones for and the addition of a foreign ingredient from Germany. It is a secret he planned to take to the grave, unless he found a worthy successor.

Mr. Himura smiled at the sight. That's better.

Ryuji grunted and followed Ayame's suit. The ramen was probably the best that Ryuji ever had, but his pride wouldn't allow him to tell the chef that. The way Ryuji devoured the bowl, however, spoke more than his words could ever say. Mr. Himura nodded smuggly at his body's response.

It wasn't long before the both of them finished their bowls, with Ryuji finishing his well before Ayame did.

"How was it?" Mr. Himura inquired about them both, but quickly focused his gaze on the green-eyed boy. He smiled slyly as Ryuji squirmed trying to find a way to avoid telling the chef how much he truly enjoyed his food. "Eh, it was pretty good."

"Just pretty good?" Mr. Himura pressed, leaning slightly over the table toward the uncomfortable Ryuji.

"Yeah, just pretty good, what did you want me to say?"

"The truth that it was probably the best ramen you've ever had? Body language doesn't lie, boy."

Ryuji scoffed and turned his head away. With the lack of affirmation or denial, Mr. Himura knew he was right. Turning his head to Ayame, he saw that she had yet another tear rolling down her cheek. He sighed and pushed a napkin toward Ryuji until it touched his fingertips. Mr. Himura motioned with his head toward the brunette. Taking the hint, Ryuji picked up the napkin and blotted the tear away.

She grabbed the napkin from his hand and placed it gently on the table.

Ryuji sighed. "Aya…"

"What do I do now, Ryuji?" Ayame mumbled. She looked up at him searching desperately in his eyes for an answer. "What do I do?"

Ryuji composed himself. It was up to him to be strong for her. When he looked back into her pleading blue eyes, he felt his heart break for her. He watched as she slowly crumbled before him.

"That woman in the picture…" Mr. Himura started. Both teens shifted their attention to him. The middle-aged man ran a hand through his short salt-and-pepper hair. "She was my fiance." He looked to the altar at the picture of the smiling blonde. "She died ten years ago in a car accident."

Ayame and Ryuji became silent.

"She was picking up her older brother from some back-alley game room," He continued through gritted teeth. "The guy had two kids and a wonderful wife, but spent all the money he earned gambling it away in game rooms."

"That night, he had been drinking. From what I heard, he lost everything and thensome… wagered money he didn't have. He called for her to pick him up because his wife wouldn't."

He clenched a fist so tightly his knuckles turned white. "I told her not to go. I told her to just leave him there… maybe he'd learn his lesson if we just let him suffer whatever consequence was heading his way."

He looked back to her picture. "But, Hikari definitely lived up to her namesake."

Looking back down at his hands that were now folded over the table, he continued. "She drove off that night and picked him from that place... but…" Mr. Himura's body began to tremble. "They found our car flipped. They say it looked like she was trying to make an illegal u-turn two lights away from the game room."

Mr. Himura pounded the table, startling Ayame. "They found him pinned between her and the roof of the car. He inadvertently suffocated her. He tried to turn the car around, I know it. That sorry excuse of a man killed my fiance, his sister, and for what? Money?"

Mr. Himura took a deep breath and looked again to Hikari's picture.

"I buried her in the cemetery near the pier in Domino City. She agreed to be my wife on that pier. We bought an apartment unit by that pier. She loved the ocean, so I thought it was the perfect spot for her to rest."

Mr. Himura looked back at Ayame and Ryuji with a defeated look on his face.

"I left Domino City to run away from the pain I felt from her death. In a way, I feel like I abandoned her and our love there. I came back home and took over my family's ramen shop. It's been ten years, and I still haven't moved on. Hikari is probably disappointed in me."

"The point is, don't hide away from this, Ayame," He looked to Ayame with determination in his eyes. "Don't be like me."

Ayame was slightly shocked at the use of her given name. For the year that she worked there, he never referred to her by her given name.

"If you want answers, I think you should go to Domino City and find them. There's only one jail in the city, so she will probably be held there."

Mr. Himura turned around and pulled out a small box from the stand under the television. He set it on the table and opened the lid. He fished around for a minute before pulling out a key with a photograph attached to a keychain. Mr. Himura smiled affectionately at the small dusty photo, then handed it to Ayame. She took it and took a better look at the picture. It was of Mr. Himura and Hikari in their younger years.

"Please live in our apartment."

Ayame looked up in shock along with Ryuji.

Mr. Himura smiled. "After my Hikari died, I couldn't bring myself to sell it. It would honor me if you would live in it. It's the least I could do for you for dealing with this cranky old man better than anybody has in ten years. I mean, it's probably very dusty and doesn't have any furniture but-"

"Thank you very much, Mr. Himura." Ayame interrupted as she bowed as low as she could from her seated position.

Mr. Himura nodded. "Just do me one favor when you get there."

Ayame raised from her bow. "Of course, what is it?"

"Could you bring yellow chrysanthemums for Hikari, and tell her how much I love her?"

"What was her family name?"

"Jonouchi. Oh, and if you happen to see her loser brother's children," He smiled brightly. "Tell them that Uncle Kin never forgot about them. The boy Katsuya should be around your age. But, in all honesty, I hope his wife had the sense to leave him and take those beautiful children with her."

Ayame looked at the picture again and smiled. "If I see them, I'll tell them, but," Ayame looked up at her boss. "One day, you should visit them yourself."

Mr. Himura laughed and ran his hand through his hair. "I'd have to dye my hair first."

The comment made Ayame laugh. "Now who's making excuses?"

Mr. Himura smiled, satisfied hearing Ayame laugh. He looked to Ryuji who looked just as satisfied and nodded, letting Ryuji know that was their cue to leave while she was happy.

Ryuji stood up. "Well, I think we should go now. We've got some packing to do, it seems."

"It seems that you would."

Ayame stood up holding the keys. She clutched it close to her heart. "I'll never forget what you've done for me, Mr. Himura."

"Please," Mr. Himura started as he stood up. "Call me Uncle Kin."

By the time Ayame and Ryuji arrived at her home, night had fallen. The house seemed emptier than usual. It was an unusual feeling, eerie even. Everything was as it was when she left that morning. Sumiko's note was still on the table. If nothing had changed, she would have been home to greet her daughter and her best friend with the smell of dinner. She would have told them to wash their hands and that dinner would be ready shortly. The three of them would have sat at the table and talked about their days. Ayame would have told her about how not a single customer came to the shop. Sumiko would have thought it was strange and expressed sympathy for Mr. Himura's lack of income for the day. Ryuji would have told her about the progress of the Black Crown's newest location in Domino City. Sumiko would have expressed how delighted she was that the shop is doing so well. Ayame and Ryuji would have washed the dishes, insisting that Saki watch her taiga drama before she missed the beginning again. By the end of the night, Saki would have made Ryuji go home before he missed the last train. Ryuji would have gone home with two lunchboxes of leftovers: one for him and one for his father. He would have given it back to Ayame the next day cleaned.

It was too bad that everything changed.

The two teenagers sat on the floor in Sumiko's bedroom. Just like her personality, her room was neat and orderly. Similar to Mr. Himura, she didn't have many possessions. Her closet doors were still open, showing that her wardrobe was also minimal. The furniture in her room consisted of her bed, one pillow, one night stand, one lamp, one small desk, one chair, and one two-tiered drawer. Most of the furniture has been there since Ayame was a child. The memories of her childhood turned knots in her stomach.

"So, Aya, where do we start?" Ryuji broke the silence.

Ayame let out a long sigh in an attempt to calm her active stomach. "We need to find my identification documents."

"You know that they're probably fake, right?"

She shook her head. "It doesn't matter. It's all I have."

Ryuji stood up and walked toward the closet. He put his hands on his hips as he observed its contents. "You know, I almost feel bad for trashing her perfectly organized room."

Ayame quickly stood up and followed his suit. "There's no need to trash it."

"Aya, I have the moving company coming tomorrow morning. We need this place packed fast to avoid law enforcement," He explained now looking at her. "Why didn't we invite your two hot friends again?"

Ayame's face deadpanned. "Eri and Honoka? The ones with boyfriends?"

Ryuji winked.

Ayame groaned. "You're too much sometimes."

He laughed as he put his hand on her shoulder. "For real, though, more help would have made this much quicker."

She sighed. "Not really, they'd be asking questions the whole time. We'd get nothing done."

"Like we are now?"

Ayame shot him a quick glare earning her another playful laugh from her friend. The glare didn't last long before she directed her attention back to Sumiko's closet. Despite having few possessions, Ayame felt strangely overwhelmed by Saki's neatly stacked items. Her body froze as fear and hesitation took hold of her senses. Where does she even start? How was that a question when there were only five boxes in front of her?

"You should still call them. I mean, they do have a right to know you're leaving before you leave," Ryuji explained.

Ayame grabbed the top box of the stack. The choice was simple. She never understood why she made such simple choices so complicated. She thought that, maybe, if she tried to channel Sumiko, it would lead her to picking the right box. Lifting the lid off the cardboard box, she pondered what the right box would be anyway. She knew she was looking for her identifying documents, but a curiosity itched the back of her mind. Her imagination quickly began to run amok in her head thinking about the possibilities. She found herself staring into the box focusing on nothing in particular.

"Did you hear me, Aya?"

"Yeah."

Ryuji shook his head in disapproval. He knew she didn't hear him. Her blank expression told it all. He pulled a similar box from the stack and opened it up. Part of him felt bad for expecting Ayame to be her normally coherent and logical self. If nothing else, he wanted her to behave immaturely. If she did, at least he'd know there was still a part of her still intact.

But that was too much to expect.

He looked into the box and began to pull out its contents. With each object he pulled from the box, he took a quick glance at it. Most of what he pulled out were small figurines of angels. Most of them looked cherub-like and vintage. Sumiko was a fairly religious person who had a love of angels. The last was a large star that looked like it belonged on a Christmas Tree. Not wanting to bother his friend with questions, he returned the items to the box quietly and covered it. He looked at Ayame who was looking at a pearl necklace. "Any luck?"

"Do you think she used the money she stole from the hospital to buy these?" She asked, ignoring Ryuji's question.

Ryuji grew increasingly frustrated with her pessimistic demeanor. "You need to stop with the pessimism, Aya."

"Am I not allowed to be pessimistic, Ryuji? Did you forget what happened today?"

"No, I didn't, but you can't justify this behavior with that. You're just looking for excuses to feel sorry for yourself."

Ayame whipped her head in Ryuji's direction, a scowl quickly forming on her face. "I'm sorry, but are you now an orphan with no identity?" She snapped more coldly than she intended. Her eyes widened a bit in shock at her outburst. A hand brought itself over her mouth as if to prevent more words from coming out. Ryuji's facial expression never changed. It was as if he expected it, or at least that is what she tried to justify to herself. She made a mental note that she really needed to stop doing that.

"I'm sorry… that wasn't fair," She apologized. "I'm not taking this very well, am I?"

"Don't worry about it; let's just find the papers. I kind of want to sleep tonight."

Ryuji stood up and grabbed the third and fourth boxes. He placed one in front of Ayame and one on the floor where he was going to sit. "Can you imagine if she had more than five boxes?" He commented while pulling off the lid of his box. Looking inside, he found a blue notebook with pieces of paper sticking out. The spine was worn, but it was obvious the notebook was well-used. He took the notebook out and flipped through the pages haphazardly. There were a few loose pictures and some scraps of paper with notes scribbled on them. Under the notebook was a photo album and a hospital baby blanket folded into a perfect square. Typical Aunt Saki.

"I found a notebook, a photo album, and what looks to be your hospital baby blanket," Ryuji announced. He unfolded the blanket and looked at the label. "Hey, I didn't know you were born at Domino City Hospital."

She looked up from her open box, which contained baby clothes. She assumed they were hers. "No, I was born at Tsuru Memorial Hospital."

He pulled out the photo album and opened it to the first page. It was in chronological order, just as he expected Saki's photo album to be. He skimmed over the pictures and finally found what he was looking for. Holding the page up for his friend to see, he pointed to a particular picture of a baby in an incubator wearing a onesie with a small red heart embroidered over where the beating heart is. The Domino City Hospital blanket in question was being used as a sheet. Ayame's eyes widened as she took the photo album out of Ryuji's hands. He scooted closer to her to look at the photo with her. Ayame noted the pink hospital band around the baby's ankle and brough the album closer to her face to try to make out any of the text.

"Domino," She confirmed. "The band says Domino."

"Hey, it also says something else," Ryuji said, putting his face right next to hers to get the same view. "Looks like… Hira… ta?" He questioned. He took the book from her hands and looked again. "Yeah, it says Hirata."

"Hirata? Are you sure?" Ayame asked, squinting at the picture.

"I'm certain," Ryuji confirmed finally moving his face away from the album. "I dated a girl named Hirata once. Kanji was the same."

Not phased by his comment, Ayame turned the page to see more pictures. There were no more hospital pictures, but rather photos of her eating pureed food, standing in the rain with an umbrella, and other typical childhood photos.

She closed the photo album and placed it on the side. She looked through the box in front of her once again. The onesie she wore in the photo was the same one that was in the box. Under the onesie was a red scrunchie headband with a bow and scratch mitts. Further digging, however, led her to a white, unsealed envelope. She pulled the paper out of the envelope to find a document labelled from Domino City Hospital. The more she read, the wider her eyes grew. The wider her eyes grew, the more her lips quivered. Her hand found her way up to her mouth one more time to keep from choking out a cry. Her hands slowly began to tremble. "Ryuji?"

She looked toward him to find his eyes following suit of hers. He had the blue notebook open.

"Aya, you're not going to believe this," He stated as he turned a page in the notebook.

"Does it have anything to do with the name Maya?" She forced out as her grip unconsciously crinkled the paper between her fingertips.

"Y-yeah. Aya, I think that's your real name. What's worse," Ryuji stopped himself. He hesitated to say what else he read in that notebook. He looked to his friend to see the shocked look still plastered on her face. She was crumbling again for the second time today, and this time, they didn't have Uncle Kin to cheer her up with ramen and bad jokes.

"What is it, Ryuji?" She pressed.

"Well, you might not believe it, but…" He took a deep breath and looked her straight in the eyes. "Sumiko Hara isn't your mother. I think… I think she kidnapped you."

Ayame stared at Ryuji with wide eyes. Her lower lip quivered and her face quickly started to pale. The sounds of the air conditioner slowly drowned out as if it was being submerged in water. Ryuji's face seemed to meet the same watery fate. She could have sworn she heard him saying her name, but it wasn't something she could process at that time. The next thing she remembered was the world turning sideways, then pure darkness.

Ayame woke up the next morning to the sun filtering through her sheer curtains. Her head throbbed. She rubbed her eyes and looked around her room. Aside from her bed and bedding, it was completely empty of her personal belongings. Sliding out of bed, she made her ways to the door still dressed in her Himura Ramen uniform from the day before. She tiredly walked into the living room to find her friend Honoka making breakfast. "Honoka?"

Honoka quickly turned her attention away from the pancakes on the stove and ran over to her friend, enveloping her in a big hug. "Oh my gosh, Ayame! Are you okay? Otogi said you faintest last night!"

Ayame shook her head. "I'm not sure what happened."

Honoka tucked a piece of her black hair behind her ear. She always had her hair short. This time, she had a long bob that went down to almost her shoulders. It was the longest Ayame had ever seen. Her eyes were a light, honey brown, something that Honoka took pride in. Her eyes narrowed as she lightly slapped Ayame's arm. "And you're moving to Domino? Today?! When were you going to tell us? After you were gone?!"

Ayame sighed. "I decided this yesterday."

Honoka huffed. "That is lots of time! Otogi called me and Eri early this morning to help pack your things! The morning of, Ayame!"

Ayame squinted as her ears began to ring from Honoka's volume. "I'm sorry, Honoka."

Just then, Ryuji, Eri, and two of the movers came back into the house. The presence of the movers made her look around her home. It was almost completely empty, save for the large couch and dining set. Ryuji smiled as him and Eri walked up to the two girls. "Hey, good morning. Perfect timing. We just have to get your bed in the van then we are ready to go."

"Hey! What about my pancakes?! She needs to eat breakfast first!" Honoka argued running back to the stove to flip her pancakes only to find the backs slightly burned. "What?!"

Eri laughed as she leaned on a wall next to Ayame. "We're going to miss you, girl."

Ayame smiled. "I'll miss you both, too."

Ryuji led the movers holding Ayame's bed down the hallway. "That's the last of it, Aya."

Honoka proceeded to throw away her burned pancakes and pouted in defeat earning a small laugh from Ayame. Honoka walked up to Ayame and enveloped her in one last big hug. "We'll come visit you!"

Ayame smiled. "You better."

"Aya," Ryuji's voice came again. "Let's go. We've got a six hour drive ahead of us."

She bid farewell to her friends for what she felt to be the last time. She took a quick glance back into her childhood home for the last time. Besides her two friends waving to her with, it was an empty home. No matter how many times she told herself that the home was empty, a memory would alway weasel its way in. Closing her eyes to block the memory, she turned on her heel and walked out of the backhouse for the last time. Ayame and Ryuji buckled themselves in the moving van. Ryuji handed the address to the driver, and off he drove.

"Domino City, here I come."